Book Club Questions for Experiencing God

1.Blackaby opens by distinguishing between knowing *about* God and actually *knowing* God. In your own words, what is that difference — and which would you say describes your life right now?

2.The book was born partly out of Blackaby's experience pastoring a small, struggling church in Saskatoon, Canada, where God did extraordinary things through an apparently ordinary congregation. What does that backstory suggest to you about the relationship between our circumstances and God's ability to work?

3.Blackaby introduces Jesus' statement in John 5:19 — "The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing" — as the model for all Christian living. Why is it significant that Jesus Himself operated this way? What does it imply about how *we* are supposed to function?

1.Blackaby asserts that God is more interested in a love relationship with you than in getting tasks accomplished through you. Does that priority surprise you? How does it reshape the way you approach prayer, church, or Christian service?

2.The chapter contrasts a program-centered approach to Christian living with a relationship-centered one. What are the signs, according to Blackaby, that a church or individual has drifted into program-centeredness?

3.Blackaby uses the analogy of a branch and a vine (drawing from John 15) to describe how we relate to God's will. In what ways does that image challenge any self-sufficient habits in your own spiritual life?

1.Blackaby presents John 5:17–20 as the pattern for all Christian life and ministry. In your own words, restate what Jesus is claiming in that passage and why Blackaby considers it so foundational.

2.The chapter introduces the idea that God is always at work and that our role is to *look* for where He is working. What practical habits — daily, weekly, or seasonally — would help you cultivate that kind of watching posture?

3.Blackaby argues that the world sets an agenda for us through busyness, noise, and distraction, pulling us away from seeing God's activity. Where does that interference show up most powerfully in your own life?

1.Blackaby identifies several primary ways God speaks to His people: through Scripture, prayer, circumstances, and the church (other believers). Which of these has been most real and reliable in your own experience?

2.The chapter strongly emphasizes Scripture as the primary and most certain means by which God speaks. How does Blackaby guard against the idea that personal feelings or circumstances are an equally reliable guide on their own?

3.Blackaby uses the image of a shepherd and sheep from John 10 — "My sheep hear my voice." What does it take, practically, to become the kind of 'sheep' who recognizes the Shepherd's voice? Have you grown in this over time?

1.Blackaby opens with the claim that God's primary purpose in all of Scripture and history is to bring humanity into a love relationship with Himself. Does your day-to-day experience of Christianity feel like a love relationship? Why or why not?

2.The chapter draws on the Old Testament image of God as a pursuing husband — particularly from Hosea — to show that divine love is persistent, even in the face of unfaithfulness. What does that image add to your understanding of God's character that the New Testament alone might not emphasize as strongly?

3.Blackaby makes the striking claim that God is more interested in the relationship than in the results of our ministry. How does this challenge any performance-based patterns in your spiritual life?

1.Blackaby says that when God invites you to join Him, it is always in connection with something He is already doing — God never asks us to start something He has not already initiated. How does this reframe the way you evaluate ministry opportunities or personal decisions?

2.The chapter emphasizes that God's invitation is something we *recognize* rather than create. Looking at your current life — your relationships, your work, your community — where do you see signs of God already at work that might be His invitation for you?

3.Blackaby shares examples of people who were invited into God's work in unexpected ways — through a neighbor's question, a church need, or a sudden burden for a specific person. Can you recall a moment like that in your own life? Did you recognize it at the time as God's invitation?

1.Blackaby defines 'crisis of belief' as the point where what God is asking requires you to trust Him for something that is beyond your human ability to accomplish. Have you experienced such a moment? Describe it.

2.The chapter teaches that the size of the task God gives always exceeds our own resources, so that when it succeeds, God gets the glory. How do you respond to that principle — does it comfort you, unsettle you, or both?

3.Blackaby distinguishes between *intellectual* belief (agreeing with propositions about God) and *active* belief (trusting God enough to act). In your own life, which is stronger right now — and what is the gap between them?

1.Blackaby states plainly that 'you cannot continue to do things the way you have been doing them, stay where you are, and go with God.' What is the most significant adjustment you sense God may be calling you to make right now?

2.The chapter distinguishes between surface-level adjustments (changing a schedule or habit) and deep-level adjustments (surrendering an ambition, a relationship, a sense of control). Which kind does Blackaby say God is usually after?

3.Blackaby uses examples of biblical characters whose adjustments were costly — Abraham leaving his homeland, the disciples leaving their nets, Zacchaeus giving away half his wealth. What made those adjustments possible for each of them?

1.Blackaby writes that obedience is the point at which all of God's revealed truth becomes experientially real to you. What does that claim mean — and does it match your own experience?

2.The chapter teaches that partial obedience is disobedience — that saying 'yes' to God's direction but adding conditions or delays is a form of refusal. Where are you most tempted to offer God conditional obedience?

3.John 14:21 promises that those who love Jesus will obey His commandments, and that Jesus will 'show himself' to them. How does that promise connect obedience to intimacy with God? Have you experienced this progression personally?

1.Blackaby argues that God's will for the individual is almost always confirmed and clarified through the body of Christ — that you rarely experience God's full intention for your life apart from community. Does your current relationship with a local church support or undermine that claim?

2.The chapter uses the picture of the body in 1 Corinthians 12 to show that every member is necessary and that God works through the whole body, not just the prominent parts. Where do you see yourself in that body — and are you actually functioning in that role?

3.Blackaby describes the early church in Acts 2 as a community that prayed together, shared together, and watched together for God's activity. How close is your own church community to that picture? What would need to change to move closer to it?

1.Blackaby promises that when we are walking in relationship with God, seeking His will, and staying connected to Scripture and the body of Christ, we *will* know what He is calling us to. Does that promise feel realistic or overly idealistic to you? Why?

2.The chapter revisits the four-fold way God speaks — Scripture, prayer, circumstances, and the church — and shows how these work together as a confirmation system. Describe a time when these four voices aligned for you and what that convergence felt like.

3.Isaiah 55 reminds us that God's ways and thoughts are vastly higher than ours. How does intellectual humility about God's transcendence actually *support* Blackaby's claim that we can know His will — rather than undermining it?

1.Blackaby describes 'Kingdom people' as those whose primary loyalty is to God's reign rather than to their own comfort, their local church's success, or even their nation's interests. How does that description sit with you — does it describe you?

2.The chapter draws on Matthew 6:33 — 'Seek first the kingdom of God' — as the organizing principle of the Kingdom life. What does it look like, in daily practice, to seek the Kingdom *first* rather than alongside everything else?

3.Blackaby emphasizes that the Kingdom is both 'already' and 'not yet' — it is present wherever God reigns in human hearts, and it is still coming in its fullness. How does holding both of those realities shape the way you engage with suffering, injustice, and the brokenness of the world?

1.Blackaby describes what it looks like when an entire church, not just individuals within it, is experiencing God together. Have you ever been part of a community like that — or seen one from the outside? What marked it as different?

2.The chapter points to Acts 4 — where the early church prayed together after Peter and John were released, and the place was shaken — as a picture of corporate encounter with God. What conditions made that possible? Are those conditions reproducible today?

3.Blackaby teaches that a church's unity in seeking God is itself a witness to the world — that when God's people move together in love and obedience, the watching world takes notice. Where does your church have the most room to grow in that kind of unified seeking?

1.Looking back across all seven of Blackaby's realities — God's work, His invitation, His communication, the love relationship, the crisis of belief, the adjustment, and the obedience — which one hit you the hardest or surprised you the most? Why?

2.How has your understanding of what it means to 'know God's will' changed over the course of this study? Where did you begin, and where are you now?

3.Blackaby's defining conviction is that you cannot stay where you are and go with God at the same time. Looking honestly at your life right now, is there still an adjustment you have been avoiding? What would full obedience look like?